(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an assembly station for sputter shield assembly and more particularly to an assembly station that provides a new shield assembly support method for allowing the shield assembly assembling and disassembling to be done by a single person.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
A conventional sputter (such as an Applied Endura 5500) generally includes a shield assembly to fend off the sputtering particles. FIG. 1 shows a conventional shield assembly which consists of an adapter 1, a shield 2 mounted to the adapter 1, a clamp shield 3 to clip the shield 2 onto the adapter 1, and a plurality of fastening screws 4. When use in operation, the shield assembly usually is disposed like what is shown in FIG. 1, i.e. with the shield 2 facing downwards through a center opening 100 of the adapter 1 and having the fastening screws 4 engaging, from bottom to top, the adapter 1, the shield 2 and the clamp shield 3 through respective screws bores 10, 20 and 30 formed respectively in the adapter 1, the shield 2 and the clamp shield 3. Then, through the adapter 1 and the clamp shield 3, the shield 2 can be fastened to an upper rim of the adapter 1 (adjacent to the inner rim of the center opening 100).
Whenever the reaction chamber of the sputter is undergoing regular maintenance in order to prevent dust or particles resided on the used shield 2 from becoming a source for contamination or pollution, the shield 2 is generally being replaced. Referring to FIG. 2, when to replace the shield 2, the shield assembly usually has to be turned upside down 180 degrees and mounted to a work bench 5 provided by manufacturers. The work bench 5 has a plurality of support arms 51 to support the adapter 1. During dismantling the shield assembly, one engineer disengages the fastening screws 4, and another engineer holds the clamp shield 3 and the shield 2 of the overturned shield assembly to prevent the clamp shield 3 and the shield 2 from dropping when the fastening screws 4 are loosened, or to prevent the screw threads of the screw bore 30 of the clamp shield 3 from damaging from the unbalanced loosening screws 4. Once the fastening screws 4 have been unfastened and removed, the clamp shield 3 and the shield 2 may be removed from the work bench 5.
To assemble the shield assembly, as the fastening screws 4 are engaged to the back side of the adapter 1 (the upper side shown in FIG. 2) and run through the shield 2 and the clamp shield 3, it still requires two engineers to do the work. One engineer fastens the screws 4, while another engineer holds both the clamps shield 3 and the shield 2, aligns the screw bores 10, 20, 30, and calibrates the direction of the edges of the shield 2. The work of alignment and calibration is tedious and takes a lot of time. Hence, replacement (especially the assembly) of the shield 2 often becomes a bottleneck in the regular maintenance processes and results in waste of manpower and time.
Accordingly, it is the primary object of the invention is to provide an assembly station for sputter shield assembly that changes shield assembly support method on the work bench to allow assembly and disassembly of the shield assembly performed by a single person to save manpower and time.
The assembly station for sputter shield assembly of the invention offers a work bench to facilitate assembling and disassembling of the shield assembly. The shield assembly includes, according to a stacking sequence, a hollow adapter, a hollow shield mounting to the hollow portion of the adapter, and a hollow clamp shield. The shield assembly further has a center line running through the adapter, the shield and the clamp shield. The shield and the clamp shield together form an inner rim when assembled. The shield assembly is mounted to the assembly station with the clamp shield facing downwards, and includes at least three bottom rim support arms and at least three inner rim retaining arms.
The bottom rim support arms support the clamp shield and bear the weight of the shield assembly. Preferably, at least three of the bottom rim support arms can form a pseudo acute triangle surrounding the center line of the shield assembly.
The inner rim retaining arms contact the inner rim formed by the shield and the clamp shield. In a preferred embodiment, at least three of the inner rim retaining arms can form a pseudo acute triangle surrounding the center line of the shield assembly.
In one embodiment of the invention, the bottom rim support arms can be connected to form an annular structure.
In one embodiment of the invention, the inner rim retaining arms can be formed by extending respectively the bottom rim support arms.
In one embodiment of the invention, the inner rim retaining arms can be connected to form an annular structure.
In one embodiment of the invention, the assembly station can include at least three adapter jutting support rims to contact the adapter of the shield assembly for complementing the bottom rim support arms that support the weight of the shield assembly. The adapter jutting support rims may form a pseudo acute triangle surrounding the center line of the shield assembly, and may be preferably connected to form an annular structure.
In one embodiment of the invention, the assembly station includes at least three adapter retaining flanges, each having a side wall to contact the adapter for anchoring the shield assembly along the horizontal direction. The adapter retaining flanges may be formed a pseudo acute triangle surrounding the center line of the shield assembly, and may be preferably connected to form an annular structure.
The foregoing, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.